Emmanuel Vanbrussel

Although no progress has been made this year towards a European Capital Markets Union, William De Vijlder, former Chief Economist at BNP Paribas, remains cautiously optimistic about building a stronger financial Europe. According to him, four groundbreaking reports from the past year point the way forward.

William De Vijlder (64) retired this autumn as the chief economist of BNP Paribas. In a farewell interview, he reflects on four decades of economic analysis. ‘Everything is even more interconnected than I once thought, which makes it incredibly fascinating.’

2024 was a year of further consolidation in the Belgian private banking market. Many are eager to see what room for manoeuvre Degroof Petercam will have under its new French owner, Indosuez.

The war between Russia and Ukraine is prompting European asset managers to reconsider defence stocks, partly at the urging of their clients.

No less than four of the five wealthiest municipalities in Belgium are located in the Province of Luxembourg, which borders the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. This Belgian province—particularly its border areas—has been identified as an attractive growth market by private bankers and wealth advisors.

Two months after Mario Draghi urged the creation of a unified European capital market, stock exchange operator Euronext has announced future plans that will likely be music to the former ECB chief’s ears.

Czech Banka Creditas has made a binding takeover bid for the Maltese group over online bank MeDirect. Behind Banka Creditas is relatively unknown billionaire Pavel Hubáček.

The American investment giant Goldman Sachs is closing its Belgian fund, Goldman Sachs (B) Invest. The last compartment will be transferred to a fund in Luxembourg through a cross-border merger.

In Belgium, less than 10 percent of the 410 members of the CFA Society are women. ‘Bitterly few,’ concludes Maud Reinalter, CIO of Belfius Asset Management. When a woman applies for a fund manager position, 200 percent of the profile matches. A male candidate applies when he meets only 80 percent of the requirements.

European asset managers must pursue economies of scale to stay competitive with their US counterparts, argues Vincent Juvyns, a market strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management. Fragmentation across Europe’s capital markets is also a key issue that hinders competitiveness, he says.